Creative Circle 2016

"From advertising to ART-vertising"

What is the purpose of art in today's creative industry? How is it evolving along with our fast-paced and highly-connected culture? What does creativity mean in the digital era? These questions and more will be explored during Epica's 2016 Creative Circle Conference. A day to network, debate and be inspired by speakers from the worlds of advertising, digital, PR and art.

Speakers

Our inspiring line-up of guests:

Barry Wacksman, EVP Global Chief Strategy Officer, R/GA Barry has global responsibility for all three of R/GA’s strategic functions—Insights and Planning, Marketing Sciences, and Business Transformation—while continuing to lead the global business development team. He is the coauthor of Connected by Design (2014, Jossey-Bass/Wiley) and a key architect of R/GA’s vision of the connected age. This vision seamlessly combines digital platforms that consumers use on an ongoing basis with the episodic storytelling of campaigns to help brands achieve differentiation in an otherwise commoditized marketplace for consumer goods.

Cecilia Martin, co-founder, Lava Lab Cecilia Martin is the co-founder and curator of Lava Lab, a lab for innovation mixing strategy, design and technology to engage and inspire organisations. Martin has developed brand strategies and identity programmes for a wide variety of clients in the cultural field, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Garage Museum of Contemporary Culture, the Guggenheim, the V&A, La Caixa Foundation, the Amsterdam Museum, the Netherlands Museums Association and the Netherlands National Museum of World Cultures.

Bas Korsten, Executive Creative Director, J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam Bas graduated as Engineer in Logistic Management in 1992 and received a Business degree from the University of Nijmegen (Netherlands) in 1994. Having “seen the error of his ways” he then moved into advertising. He currently is the Executive Creative Director of JWT in Amsterdam. Bas recently realized the Project “The Next Rembrandt”, a work that resembles the work of Rembrandt, but was actually made by 3D printers with the help of data analysis, art historians and developers. In total it took 18 months to create.

Amanda Benfell, Director of Communications, Gunn Report Amanda joined The Gunn Report in July 2014 having previously worked as Head of Press & PR at Lions Festivals – including Cannes Lions, Eurobest, Dubai Lynx, and Spikes Asia – for close to eighteen years. Earlier in her career she worked for several years in travel and tourism, specifically in the cruise line industry.

Stéphane Xiberras, President & Chief Creative Officer, BETC Paris One of France’s most noted creative talents, Stéphane started out as a copywriter and joined BETC as creative director in 1999. He has been President and Creative Director since 2007. Skilled at deploying humour and storytelling, he was behind award-winning spots such as “The Bear” which was the most awarded film in the entire history of the Gunn Report, and “The Closet”, the most awarded film of the year in 2010. This year, Stéphane and the entire BETC team relocated to a new creative hub in a former warehouse building on the outskirts of Paris.

Carlo Cavallone, ECD and Partner, 72andSunny Amsterdam Carlo is dedicated to growing 72andSunny’s diverse group of talented individuals, and focusing their creative efforts for brands like Google, Samsung, Axe and adidas. Recent work features world leaders smooching for Benetton and unpacking history for Samsung. Hailing from Italy, he has worked for multicultural companies in the Netherlands and USA, with highlights such as Jogo Bonito for Nike, big football extravaganzas for EA Sports and opening worlds for Heineken.

Thomas Kolster, author and founder, Goodvertising Describing himself as “an ex-ad guy”, Thomas is the author of the book “Goodvertising”, published by Thames & Hudson in 2010. To day he advises and assists businesses and non-profits on how to turn environmental, societal and health risks into market opportunities where growing the bottom line goes hand in hand with creating a better planet. A regular speaker and jury member, he was dubbed “Inspirational Leader” by The Huffington Post.

Sophie Worth, Recruiter, Wieden+Kennedy AmsterdamSophie first joined Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam in 1995 to work on the Nike France and Benelux accounts, later transitioning to TV Production. She spent 12 years as a freelance consultant within the Amsterdam creative industry, and her talent for connecting people organically led her to recruitment. She joined the European office of FBI Recruitment in 2010. She returned to W+K Amsterdam in 2012, and is now in charge of hiring and retaining talent.

Programme

09.30

Introduction (Philippe Paget, CEO of AdForum and the Epica Awards)

09.40

Thomas Kolster, Goodvertising. How brands are turning challenges into success.